Analysis of 39
Henry Lawson 1867 (Grenfell) – 1922 (Sydney)
I only woke this morning
To find the world is fair—
I’m going on for forty,
With scarcely one grey hair;
I’m going on for forty,
Where man’s strong life begins,
With scarce a sign of crows’ feet,
In spite of all my sins.
Then here’s the living Forties!
The Forties! The Forties!
Then here’s the living Forties!
We’re good for ten years more.
The teens were black and bitter,
A smothered boyhood’s grave—
A farm-drudge in the drought-time,
A weary workshop slave.
But twenty years have laid them,
And all the world is fair—
We’ll find time in the Forties,
To have some boyhood there.
Then here’s the wide, free Forties—
The Forties! The Forties!
Then here’s the wide, free Forties!
We’re good for ten years more!
The twenties they were noble,
The bravest years, I think;
’Twas man to man in trouble,
In working and in drink;
’Twas man to man in fighting,
For money or for praise.
And we’ll find in the Forties
Some more Bohemian days.
Then here’s the wiser Forties!
The Forties! The Forties!
Then here’s the wiser Forties!
We’re good for ten years more.
The thirties were the fate years;
I fought behind the scenes.
The thirties were more cruel
And blacker than the teens;
I held them not but bore them—
They were no years of mine;
But they are going from me,
For I am thirty-nine.
So here’s the stronger Forties!
The Forties! The Forties!
And here’s the good old Forties!
We’re good for ten years more.
Scheme | abCbCdxd EEEF xgxghbeb EEEF ijijakek EEEF xlilhmcm eEeF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1101110 110111 1101110 110111 1101110 111101 1101111 011111 1101010 010010 1101010 011111 0101010 01011 0110011 01011 1101111 010111 1110010 11111 1101110 010010 1101110 011111 0101010 010111 1111010 010001 1111010 110111 0110010 1101001 1101010 010010 1101010 011111 0100011 110101 0100110 010101 1111111 101111 1111011 111101 1101010 010010 0101110 011111 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,415 |
Words | 257 |
Sentences | 27 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 4, 8, 4, 8, 4, 8, 4 |
Lines Amount | 48 |
Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 134 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 32 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 18, 2023
- 1:17 min read
- 110 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"39" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 11 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/17699/39>.
Discuss this Henry Lawson poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In